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International Artists

Billy Harper

A saxophonist, flautist, singer and composer, he was born in Houston, Texas, in 1943.

He was a precocious musician, at the age of 5 he was already singing in choirs and religious ceremonies and he set up his first quintet at high school at the age of 14. Once graduated from the North Texas State University he moved to New York, in 1966, and immediately drew the attention of the big names of jazz like Gil Evans, Max Roach, Thad Jones and Art Blakey. He has been an active and significant member of jazz formations that set precedent, such as Gil Evan’s orchestra, the legendary Thad Jones-Mel Lewis and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, as well as a vast contribution to the brilliant drummer Max Roach, among others.

In 1973 he recorded Capra Black, his first album as a leader. It was regarded by the specialised press as “one of the first jazz recordings to openly express the beginning of a new black consciousness”. Throughout his long and fruitful career, he performed in Europe, Japan, Africa and the United States with a singular style that results from a mixture of spiritual evolution and innovation, blended into his own free way of performing the sax, influenced by John Coltrane’s spirit, most probably his greatest creative influence. In 1976, his album Black Saint rocked the world jazz scene, which has earned widespread praise and the award for “Voice Grand Prix” by the Modern Jazz League of Tokyo. An outstanding teacher and lecturer, he has taught in academic institutions of the United States –Livingston College and Rutgers–, received research grants and, through the New Jersey State Council for the Arts, he lectured on improvisation at fifteen high schools of that state.

Programme